Public Health officials are treating all new cases reported in this province as variants of concern, but things are improving as vaccination rates increase.

The majority of cases reported in Newfoundland and Labrador in recent weeks are directly linked to travel.

There are three new confirmed cases in the province today; two in the Eastern Health region and one in Western Health. One is travel-related, one is a close contact of a previous case, and one case—in Eastern Health—is under investigation.

Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says after extensive testing, they have not found any evidence of community spread in the southwestern portion of the island. As of tomorrow, the area will return to Alert Level 2 from Alert Level 4, which was imposed last week.

Fitzgerald says while the risk of importation remains high, there are signs of improvement across the country, with daily case counts continuing to drop.

Nationally, there was a 22 per cent decrease in cases from the previous week and a 28 per cent decrease in Atlantic Canada.

Health officials indicate that 50 per cent of eligible NL residents will have received their first dose of vaccine by the end of today.

With vaccination rates in the province on the rise, Fitzgerald says there is light at the end of the tunnel.

She says Alert Level 1 is in sight, and they will ease restrictions based on a number of factors, including epidemiology outside the province, and the number of people who have received both doses of the vaccine—among other factors.